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SeaGeo

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Well my drive is at 2:30 today! I shall prepare a full report for review by the HIGH COUNC….. I mean forum
Have fun!
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SeaGeo

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@timesinks you give me an interesting idea. I may meet them at an EA location outnin Covington, do my drive, and then see what the DCFC charging UI is like and confirm I can switch the display to kW and not miles/hr.
 

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We had a 10am appointment and the guy rolled up about 10 minutes early. We ran over about 5 minutes, so basically got a full hour with it. Did not feel rushed at all.
Thank you!!!
 

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This vehicle is LE w/ offroad. Still not entirely clear which bits of the underbody shield are related to the off-road package. The guy who did our test drive seemed pretty sure the whole underbody plate was reinforced compared to the not-off-road configuration. ?‍♂

7B16FDF0-198F-4116-8DE0-BA7117D8F512.jpeg

638ABD51-9420-4635-A8B7-A6375CF15848.jpeg
Thank you for sharing these photos!

This is the first good look I’ve taken at the underside of the vehicle. That front panel looks like a plastic (maybe polycarbonate) air damn, kind of surprising for an off-roader. I expected aluminum, which I still hope is true of the rear underbody plate. What’s more surprising are the fasteners are internal-drive fasteners, either a torx or Allen. These are awful to use anywhere that is exposed to dirt because they accumulate debris and are prone to strip out unless you are very deliberate about clearing them out before attempting a removal. I’d change these fasteners out for a traditional hex-head bolt very early in ownership.

When I go to the Seattle first drive event you’ll all recognize me because I’ll be the nut poking around under the cars. ? I’m really focused on how easy or hard these will be to maintain long term.
 

timesinks

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Thank you for sharing these photos!

This is the first good look I’ve taken at the underside of the vehicle. That front panel looks like a plastic (maybe polycarbonate) air damn, kind of surprising for an off-roader. I expected aluminum, which I still hope is true of the rear underbody plate. What’s more surprising are the fasteners are internal-drive fasteners, either a torx or Allen. These are awful to use anywhere that is exposed to dirt because they accumulate debris and are prone to strip out unless you are very deliberate about clearing them out before attempting a removal. I’d change these fasteners out for a traditional hex-head bolt very early in ownership.

When I go to the Seattle first drive event you’ll all recognize me because I’ll be the nut poking around under the cars. ? I’m really focused on how easy or hard these will be to maintain long term.
Glad you found it helpful. And apparently my husband snapped a pic of me being that nut...

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So I finished my drive and wow, this thing exceeded my every expectation. For reference, I currently drive a 2018 Volvo XC60 T8 Inscription, and my only experience with a pickup truck is my brother’s 2020 Ram 2500.

The R1T they brought me was a Launch Edition Blue/Black w/ 20" ATs and the Off-Road Upgrade

First Impressions/Size/Quality/Driving Experience

The size was about what I was expecting, slightly larger than a Tacoma, but by no means too huge to use around town. The Rivian Blue paint is absolutely gorgeous in person, and has a similar look to Laguna Seca Blue. Panel gaps and exterior quality are good, about in-line with what I would expect. The stadium headlights and light bar look reallllllly good in person, and overall I simply can't overstate how damn fabulous the R1T looks in person.

The interior was really the star for me. Everything felt super high quality, both in actual material quality and how well it was all put together. The seats were really comfortable, and the faux-leather, while not as supple as the stuff you might find in a Range Rover, was far more durable feeling. The Black Mountain interior is very chic, and even though everything is black, the shading and textures are different enough that it felt cohesive and not too "samey"

Actual driving was also phenomenal. The cabin was dead quiet, with almost no road noise. The ride was soft and quite luxurious, and even in sport mode it was far from what I would call harsh. 0-60, even in the rain and on ATs, was incredible. No wheel slipping or anything, and I felt fully in-control even with such rapid acceleration. Around corners there was almost no body roll in All-Purpose, and even less in Sport. Handled like a sports car, truly.

The Tech

So I'll address the most common things I've heard first.

The powered tonneau worked on this one! It was a little slow, and not 100% smooth, but it opened and closed multiple times without issues.

The touchscreen was way, way better than in my Volvo. Practically no lag in the menus and such, and even in the map (where the Rivian employee confessed he had seen lag before) the scrolling and zooming was quite smooth compared to the Volvo. Everything was bright and the graphics looked crisp. The employee did mention that they had just had an OTA update that morning, and had been going through many OTA updates since production began.

At one point during the drive, the menu bar along the bottom of the screen briefly froze, for about 30 seconds. It started working again without any resets or anything though, so the employee chocked it up to the recent software update. Overall I would say that the UI and such was gorgeous, mostly smooth, and definitely will only improve with age/updates.

Audio

I'm not really and audiophile, but my boyfriend is. He thought the Meridian system was great, but that it could use some equalizer adjustments to sound truly amazing.

Personally, coming from the B&W system in my Volvo, I though the Meridian system was very punchy, with nearly as crisp highs and much more low-end punch. There wasn't any distortion at higher volumes, and you could really feel the woofers and bass moving.

Conclusion

I'm certain I've missed stuff, so feel free to ask questions! I'll admit right away I didn't get into the nitty-gritty of charging curves or precise Kw/h or whatever. I don't have the knowledge in those areas. But I'm happy to answer stuff about the actual vehicle and driving experience and such!

Rivian R1T R1S Seattle First Mile Test Drives Registration! tempImagetcrxKq
Rivian R1T R1S Seattle First Mile Test Drives Registration! tempImage2WwxDX
Rivian R1T R1S Seattle First Mile Test Drives Registration! tempImagevPEXu7


Rivian R1T R1S Seattle First Mile Test Drives Registration! tempImageGpElcs
 
Last edited:

timesinks

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@Forager1 I'm not sure that there's anything "new" here, but looks like we got a short video clip panning across the underbody too.

 

SeaGeo

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So I finished my drive and wow, this thing exceeded my every expectation. For reference, I currently drive a 2018 Volvo XC60 T8 Inscription, and my only experience with a pickup truck is my brothers 2020 Ram 2500.

The R1T they brought me was a Launch Edition Blue/Black w/ 20" ATs and the Off-Road Upgrade

First Impressions/Size/Quality/Driving Experience

The size was about what I was expecting, slightly larger than a Tacoma, but by no means too huge to use around town. The Rivian Blue paint is absolutely gorgeous in person, and has a similar look to Laguna Seca Blue. Panel gaps and exterior quality are good, about in-line with what I would expect. The stadium headlights and light bar look reallllllly good in person, and overall I simply can't overstate how damn fabulous the R1T looks in person.

The interior was really the star for me. Everything felt super high quality, both in actual material quality and how well it was all put together. The seats were really comfortable, and the faux-leather, while not as supple as the stuff you might find in a Range Rover, was far more durable feeling. The Black Mountain interior is very chic, and even though everything is black, the shading and textures are different enough that it felt cohesive and not too "samey"

Actual driving was also phenomenal. The cabin was dead quiet, with almost no road noise. The ride was soft and quite luxurious, and even in sport mode it was far from what I would call harsh. 0-60, even in the rain and on ATs, was incredible. No wheel slipping or anything, and I felt fully in-control even with such rapid acceleration. Around corners there was almost no body roll in All-Purpose, and even less in Sport. Handled like a sports car, truly.

The Tech

So I'll address the most common things I've heard first.

The powered tonneau worked on this one! It was a little slow, and not 100% smooth, but it opened and closed multiple times without issues.

The touchscreen was way, way better than in my Volvo. Practically no lag in the menus and such, and even in the map (where the Rivian employee confessed he had seen lag before) the scrolling and zooming was quite smooth compared to the Volvo. Everything was bright and the graphics looked crisp. The employee did mention that they had just had an OTA update that morning, and had been going through many OTA updates since production began.

At one point during the drive, the menu bar along the bottom of the screen briefly froze, for about 30 seconds. It started working again without any resets or anything though, so the employee chocked it up to the recent software update. Overall I would say that the UI and such was gorgeous, mostly smooth, and definitely will only improve with age/updates.

Audio

I'm not really and audiophile, but my boyfriend is. He thought the Meridian system was great, but that it could use some equalizer adjustments to sound truly amazing.

Personally, coming from the B&W system in my Volvo, I though the Meridian system was very punchy, with nearly as crisp highs and much more low-end punch. There wasn't any distortion at higher volumes, and you could really feel the woofers and bass moving.

Conclusion

I'm certain I've missed stuff, so feel free to ask questions! I'll admit right away I didn't get into the nitty-gritty of charging curves or precise Kw/h or whatever. I don't have the knowledge in those areas. But I'm happy to answer stuff about the actual vehicle and driving experience and such!

tempImagetcrxKq.jpg
tempImage2WwxDX.jpg
tempImagevPEXu7.jpg


tempImageGpElcs.jpg
Thanks! That's awesome to hear as I also have a 2018 T8.
 

Forager

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@Forager1 I'm not sure that there's anything "new" here, but looks like we got a short video clip panning across the underbody too.

Awesome! I learned from another thread that the plastic bits might actually be carbon-fiber. I don’t know enough about the material to make any judgements about suitability for underbody protection, I’ll just say it seems unique. As a structural engineer, we love it because of its high tensile strength, but such materials are often brittle.

At the 5 second mark you can make out what appear to be 1/4 turn fasteners, which would be used for quick access. I wonder what’s under that panel?

Hard to make out the other fasteners in the video, but it’s a great shot of the rocker panels. It looks like adding rock sliders or running boards would require welding, sometimes those can just be bolt on because of easy access to the rocker frame where such fastening locations are factory provided. Hopefully Rivian has considered this and suitable connections are just under an aero panel.
 

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@Rhidan I could put in both my wife's Skis and my Snowboard and list the lengths for each...we haven't been up to Stevens in several seasons but great info to have regardless. I will say that my wife's Skis are on the short/learner side and I'm 6',4", pretty sure my board is somewhere between 163-165ish.

Trying to determine if you would want/need the racks or not?!? ?

I think @timesinks covered it, but thank you! I knew Seattle would have some skiiers and riders!

I‘m actually debating getting the R1S if the skis don’t fit. There’s no real point in getting a truck if you need a ski rack on top, but I can save that discussion for another thread.
 

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I think @timesinks covered it, but thank you! I knew Seattle would have some skiiers and riders!

I‘m actually debating getting the R1S if the skis don’t fit. There’s no real point in getting a truck if you need a ski rack on top, but I can save that discussion for another thread.
@timesinks definitely covered it! Bravo!

Unless others beat me to it by Thursday...I might be able to add the..."Yes it fits in the garage" shots? It'll likely be pouring so guessing the walk around may happen inside?!? ?

Gonna play musical cars and move the Prius out and the Leaf over to make sure the Charging cable reaches both, confirming my measure thirty seven times, cut once theory.

There's also an EA charger up the street at Walmart....hmmm...maybe I'll focus on getting Charging Speeds? Granted the ? will likely be charged to a relatively high level so...?
 

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I have seen my config in the area LG/FE and have my test drive on Sat am. Hope for that combo. Trying to figure out the test drive route around the Bothell/Millcreek area. Also, just received my Birthday Present from Rivian. Crossbars! (not "officially" supposed to open them until my B-day early Dec) though I don't/wont have anything to mount them on for awhile...:( Early June/2020 preorder...

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pc500

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I have seen my config in the area LG/FE and have my test drive on Sat am. Hope for that combo. Trying to figure out the test drive route around the Bothell/Millcreek area. Also, just received my Birthday Present from Rivian. Crossbars! (not "officially" supposed to open them until my B-day early Dec) though I don't/wont have anything to mount them on for awhile...:( Early June/2020 preorder...

IMG_0819.jpeg
Did you order the crossbars from the gear shop?
 

Mcdoo

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Did you order the crossbars from the gear shop?
I did, before they ended up out of stock .. wasn't sure if they would actually ship as I had it in my "cart" for sometime and had to re-login and realized the store said out of stock for that item but it was still in my cart. So I decided to go for it. I ordered them on Wed of last week...

So at least the merch store ships orders quick:CWL:
 
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Doing the same homework... the closest offroad trails I can think of are out near Index.

The city of Kenmore has been in the process of adding sidewalks and our streets are a torn up mixture of broken pavement, gravel, and pot holes. This is probably as close as I will get to any sort of off-road experience...
If this La Nina Pineapple Express has anything to say about it over the next week we'll also get to test out max wading depth at some intersections. ?

Two days to go....hmmm....
  • Garage Test Fit/Walk Around/Camp Kitchen (if available)
  • Dog(s) Test
  • PodCast/Audio/BT Connectivity/Stream Something Video over Garage WiFi?
  • Go Pedal Test
  • EA 350 kW Charge Test
  • ?!?!?!?!?
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